Let There Be Solar Power for Puerto Rico’s Low-Income Students

Answering the call to continue to help the people of Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria devastated the US island in 2017, Fr. Eric Cruz of Catholic Charities New York assembled a group of students and leaders from the non-profit, Let’s Share the Sun Foundation, with the mission of restoring power to an area still in the dark.

In consultation with the Archbishop Roberto Gonzalez of San Juan, Fr. Eric’s team got to work constructing a solar panels in El Mesón de Amor. Continuing the work of Comite Noviembre, a New York-based Puerto Rican heritage foundation closely aligned with Catholic Charities NY, the site now provides free meals four days every week to 125 low-income students who attend the University of Puerto Rico across the street. The power produced by the solar panels will help supply power to a food pantry, educational workshop area, and to the afterschool programs for children.